Sunday, May 22, 2011

Open Letter to Whoever That Steal Photos and Contents of My Blog

I often get requests from fellow bloggers to use my photos or recipes on their blogs and usually accommodate as long as there is proper attribution. Many readily agree on the condition. But of late, a growing number are downloading my photographs and whole contents from my blog and posting them as their own without my permission. I have contacted some who were decent enough to remove the photos or gave me the credit via links and comments. However, some hide behind privacy features that prevent me from getting in touch to tell them. What they do is unethical and that they need to stop stealing.

My questions to these bloggers is -- Why are you doing this? My guess is you want a blog to be proud of but are too lazy to do research on cooking/baking techniques continuously, cook/bake/grill every other day, take hundreds if not thousands of pictures and spend hours on end editing them. THAT is what it takes for me to build up My Kitchen Snippets. I don't claim my blog is a work of art or the likes, but it is my little home which doors I willingly open to anyone interested in my kitchen adventures. I feel that my generosity is abused when you 'STEAL' after visiting my home. If you like my contents and photographs just ask or have the courtesy to create a link back to my blog as the source. You cannot steal in the hope that I won’t find out because I will.

The next and subsequent blogs where I find my photographs and contents without credit to me will be reported to their blog hosts under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

36 comments:

I am so sorry to hear that's happening to you! I know that would really bother me if I saw something complete of mine taken and posted as someone else's property - I hope you are able to get any copyright infringements resolved!!

So sorry to hear that, I just get to know your blog, and I never felt so addicted to it. It been a habitual that I need to view your blog. I'm really felt so unfair for you and those terrible people. You shouldn't give them warning, report to them straight! Don't be upset, a smile will brighten up everything. I will always support you even though I'm new to cooking! Still learning...... "jia-you" (Chinese)!

i hope that those nasty people will heed the advice to credit photos and contents back to your blog, otherwise please report them to the relevant authority! i do not wish to lose my source of recipes and inspiration to cook because of these sneaky people. please do not be disheartened by them. jiayou! -ling

Gertrude, these people have no moral values. Taking your photos and claiming it is their is darn shameful on their part. An open letter is too nice I feel...you should report them.

Anyway don't feel upset many of us will know that it is not their original and that it has been stolen from you coz we are regular here. Do not let this stop you from posting. We are here for you and supporting you and your works :)

Gert, so sorry to hear that! Btw, how do you find them? I wonder if anyone did that to me too. I found one but the site is pretty good enough directed all the entries to my site. I am glad & happy enough. Chill out friend & have a good weekend.Best wishes,Kristy

This is the second time in two weeks a blogger I read has found stolen content elsewhere! One thing that may help is to not allow the full content of a post to show in Google Reader or other blog readers. I don't know how it works, but I know three other blogs I read regularly resorted to only allowing previews in Google Reader to help prevent theft. (Those blogs were David Lebovitz, Market Manila, and Our Adventures in Japan--maybe one of the blog owners can explain the workings to you, since I have no clue!)

Rebekah, yes it is very disheartening sometimes. I have to do more research on this :(

Lynda, yes it is. I did report some of them and now they make they blog private.

Jenn, yes it is. This is not the first time. Happened so many times that is why I wrote this post.

Ann, yes totally agreed with you. They are PESTS!!!

Yummy Bakes, thank you. I will.

Wendy, I did report some of them.

Sonia, thank you.

Kak Rose, the same blog is still doing it. Copy all the posting and paste it in his/her blog.

Linda, thank you so much for your support. Hope to see your comment often :) No, I can't get too upset with people like this as there are plenty of them out there. I am already old so I don't want to get older :)

Indahhouse, yes. The whole content of all my latest posting. Lots of them infact. Apa nak buat, orang ada blog dia pun nak ada blog tapi malas. So they copied content of a few bloggers and put it there. Bukan I saja :(

Yat Maria, dah report. I know it happen to you jugak kan. Tak tahu apa nak cakap about people like this.

Ling, what I hate about people like this is they copied the whole content of my blog. Don't worry, I will not stop blogging because of them. Thank you for all your support.

Elin, no only photos but the whole content of my blog. That is why I was upset when I found out. Thank you for your support.

Sorry to hear how leeches are stealing from your hard work. I recently was in a similar situation where someone was copying my idea. In all that steaming and cursing, what an old lady once told me ran through my mind, and only then did I have a few seconds to comfort myself, what she said was "imitation is a sincerest form of flattery".

Please do not let this leeches stop your devotion to blogging about food. Because of you, our meal times are more interesting.

Kristy, you can go to Copyscape website and type in your blog link and if any of your entries being copy they will tell you. Many of them I stumble upon them accidentally.

Jeannie, yes I will.

Shereen, yes quite disheatening. This website stole the whole content of my postings. Not only mine but a few other bloggers too.

Ketchup, nope. They post all the pictures with the watermark on it. If I list them out then I will be directing traffic to their website since they have tons of ads in their blog. Earning money out of people hardwork :(

Ellena, I am fine now. I was upset when I found out. Yes they copied the whole content of my posting. No only one but a lot of them.

Rona, Thanks you so much for the tips. I will do more research on this. I will check out the blogs your mentioned.

Little Inbox, it is shameful!! Yes they don't know how much work we put into each posting :(

It is sad to know that there are people that evil to claim the fruits of your hardwork. Pls do report them so they know what shame it is.Your blog has been a great support for me, thanks for always posting different kinds of recipes especially the Asian cuisines.

You are doing the right thing! I understand exactly how you feel as the same thing has happened to me (while I've been away from blogging). One thief even has the nerve to paste a cartoon over the watermark on my photo to cover it.Thank you to you and others too for sharing tips on how to deal with these thieves!

Copyright Statement

All photographs and written content featured at My Kitchen Snippets are by Gertrude Patane unless otherwise stated. If you are interested in using the contents or photographs please ask for permission first. If you re-post a recipe, please give credit and post a link back to this site. Please do not alter, transform or build upon any aspect of her work without prior consent.

About Me

I was born and raised in Malaysia and now live in Northern California, USA with my wonderful husband Carlos. I love to bake and cook. It is very relaxing and I find my creativity flowing in the kitchen. I creates this blog to record all my cooking and baking adventures and also share my tested recipes with you.
I don’t consider myself an expert but all the recipes here are tried and tested by me, unless noted otherwise.
If you have any suggestions or comments please feel free to do so, If you’re feeling shy or have a question about a recipe, drop me a line instead. My e.mail address is at my profile.
To know more about my life you can always hop over to my other blog.